Healing ovarian cysts: my personal journey

In April 2010, a lovely lady called Valery sent me an e-mail asking me if I knew of any natural ways to heal ovarian cysts. As luck would have it, at the time, I was a year into my own journey of healing my ovarian cysts and fibroids. Talk about synchronicity.

Anyway, I was very happy to share with her the ways I had been successfully treating my own ovarian cysts. But it also got me thinking that it might be worthy of a post so that more people could benefit.

Healing my ovarian cysts

I am not a doctor or a nurse. I’m just a regular person who happens to be very interested in my own health. The following is a retelling of my own journey, thoughts and experiences. If you have a serious medical condition, you should consult with a doctor.

For about a year, I had been on a journey to fix some niggling health issues, the most pressing of which was polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt is this—just because something is hereditary DOES NOT mean it’s written in stone.

My mother passed away from complications arising from ovarian cancer when I was five years old. When I hit puberty and started having painful periods each month, I truly believed I would follow in her footsteps. How could I not? All the literature I read about uterine issues (painful periods, fibroids and endometriosis) told me that my condition was hereditary. It was in my DNA.

It’s only now that I realise how very powerful and damaging that belief was. It made me accept my condition and believe there was no way out. So I suffered from tremendous pain for a few days each month my period came. During that time, I would be completely dependent on painkillers just to function. And by function, I mean to walk and to stand upright. To go to school. And eventually to go to work. I thought it would be like that always, until menopause would relieve me.

I was wrong.

It’s been nearly a year now since I started making changes to my life. It wasn’t always easy. But right at around the 3rd or 4th month into it, I noticed something remarkable. My period was becoming less painful than usual. Instead of three painkillers, I only needed two of those powerful little blue pills.

The next month, when my period rolled around again, I couldn’t believe it. The pain, debilitating as it has always been, had dulled from a painful roar to a dull discomfort. I still wasn’t feeling my best, but I could function. And so it progressed. With each cycle, the pain was less. Now I was excited. The progress I was making not only made all my healthy choices easier but also opened my mind to what else was possible.

The first month that I was able to completely go without my little blue pills, I couldn’t believe it. I remember waiting for the pain to come that day. I kept waiting because I didn’t dare let myself believe it. But the pain never came. As I’m writing this now, I still get a little emotional. If you’ve lived with debilitating pain for years (in my case, 15 years), you’d know how incredibly humbling and quieting it is to realise that recovery is possible.

Okay, enough jibber jabber. This is what I did.

1) Getting alkaline: minding my diet and my emotions

The first thing I did was start reading up on alkaline diets.

I must have read hundreds of articles on the importance of maintaining an alkaline blood pH (which is the body’s natural, healthy state). Alkaline-causing foods are mainly of the plant variety. Not being a big fan of salads, I started eating fresh fruit and drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices every day. Not a difficult thing to do for me because they were always delicious!

I later bought my own juicer so I could have them anytime. By the way, when I say ‘fresh fruit juice’, I mean the kind that’s made from a juicer and whole fruits. Pre-packaged juices are a completely different animal and can actually have the opposite effect. Instead of boosting alkalinity, they are usually acid-causing because of all the added sugar, flavoring, chemicals and preservatives. Check the back of a fruit juice box. Do you see an entire paragraph of ingredients? Not a good sign.

I wanted to attain a healthy, alkaline state for one reason— to give my body the optimal environment it needed to heal itself.

I didn’t just load up on fruits, vegetables and other alkaline-causing food, I also learnt which foods were bad and acid-causing so I could avoid them (see a chart of alkaline and acidic causing foods). Acid-causing food are mainly things like fast food and packaged/processed foods. I also cut down on my dairy and red meat consumption (down to almost nothing) and opted for fish over chicken whenever possible.

I wasn’t perfect all the time. There were days when I succumbed to a sudden craving for a cheeseburger and fries, or a cup of strong coffee. But after I strayed, I just went back on the path.

Speaking of which, when it comes to something as personal as changing our diets, I think it really doesn’t do any good to demand perfection from ourselves. When was the last time you met a perfect person, anyway? Or had a perfect day? To expect something impossible is cruel. If you wouldn’t ask it of your best friend or loved one, why demand it from yourself?

So if you’ve decided to make a change to your diet, I hope you’ll remember to be kind to yourself. The point is to improve from where you started. Not to achieve perfection. With time and patience, you’ll get there, and when you do, you’ll realise that those few weak moments didn’t really matter anyway.

I also paid mind to my emotional life because I learnt that emotions and habitual thought patterns also have a powerful effect on our bodies’ pH. Learning this was amazing in of itself.

For example, fear and stress are acid-producing emotional states. Perhaps because of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol that are released in response to those feelings, but there could be other reasons too.

In contrast, feelings of love, gratitude and happiness are alkaline-producing states, which promotes healing in our bodies. Modern science is only just starting to uncover this. One example is oxytocin (a hormone produced during meditative states, and when we feel happiness or love), which has been proven to accelerate wound healing and new cell growth.

But while science and scientific studies are great, sometimes the best truth is already right in front of us. When I look at my friends and the faces of the people I know, I cannot help but notice that the ones who are joyful and have a radiant, inner calm also have the most youthful faces and are in the best health, while the “frowniest”, the most anxious or fearful, and the ones who complain the most have faces that look aged beyond their years and the most health issues.

Since it didn’t make sense to have the fruits of my labor be erased by my emotions, I worked on easing my daily stresses and changing my thought patterns. I started meditating, practising mindfulness and increasing my self-awareness. Slowly but surely, I started to see life differently. As my view of the world changed, so did my life and my habitual thought patterns. I got angry less often, I relaxed more, I spent more time doing absolutely nothing and loving it.

If this interests you, here’s a primer—just something to get you started.

Buddha’s Brain: The New Neuroscience (opens a pdf). Your mind and brain routinely change each other.
A quote: “Fleeting thoughts, feelings, etc. leave behind lasting marks on your brain – much like a spring shower leaves little tracks on a hillside – which form the tendencies and views that make us suffer, or lead us to happiness. This means that your experience really, really matters.”

How to be happier? Think like a baby. An entertaining article on how our brains change as we age—becoming more focused and inhibited. And how to retrain your brain to expand your consciousness.

2) Detoxing

When people hear the word detox, they usually think of going on a detox diet like the Master Cleanse. But detoxing for me was much less glamorous. My main purpose of detoxing was to aid my body in healing. Simply put, by detoxing from as many harmful chemicals as I could, I was getting the road blocks out of the way to let my body do its job.

I actually didn’t need to do much in the way of my diet because an alkaline diet of more raw fruits and vegetables was already detoxing me slowly. Instead, I focused on minimising my exposure to harmful chemicals by switching to all-natural soaps, shampoos and deodorant.

I avoided drinking out of plastic bottles and switched to aluminium tumblers (because of the chemical leech when water is kept in plastic too long).

I stopped using perfume and anti-perspirants, opting instead for baking soda, which worked better than any brand of deodorant I had ever used (almost all commercial perfumes/deodorants are chock full of synthetic chemicals and xenoestrogens. The latter is especially bad for women with ovarian cysts and fibroids as they would already be oestrogen dominant. I wrote a little about oestrogen dominance in this article).

I started using an all-natural DIY toothpaste because of the fluoride in commercial toothpastes. In my case, this was sea salt. My teeth have never looked better and my breath stays clean and fresh longer (in contrast, the sugar in commercial toothpastes actually feeds mouth bacteria).

I changed from commercial liquid soaps and shampoos (which are full of chemicals) to natural hard soaps and a DIY shampoo.

These might seem like a lot because you’re reading them all at once, but I actually made each change one at a time and very slowly. Small changes led to big ones over time.

3) Using ginger and turmeric

I’ve always been a fan of taking herbal remedies such as garlic whenever I feel under the weather, so when I learnt that ginger and turmeric were useful for healing uterine issues, I jumped right on board.

In vitro tests show that ginger kills ovarian cancer cells. Turmeric, which is also a root in the ginger family, has also been shown to have a positive effect on ovarian cancer cells.

Ginger Tea recipe (delicious!): As many fresh ginger slices as I can manage in a cup of hot water with a little bit of brown sugar to taste. Leave to steep for 15-20 minutes in a covered cup and top off with freshly-squeezed lemon juice (from half a lemon). This was delicious and became an almost daily drink for me.

A second method is by juicing. If you have a juicer, you can also extract fresh ginger juice. To save time, I like to make a big batch at once and freeze the ginger juice in ice cube trays. I then store these in a container in the freezer and pop in a few cubes in my drink whenever I want. It tastes really good in chilled lemon juice with a bit of sugar. Be warned though — this makes for a much more spicy drink than the hot tea method above.

Turmeric concoction (much less tasty): To change up the routine a bit, some days I would also take a half teaspoon of turmeric powder in a little hot water with a pinch of sea salt for taste. This didn’t taste good so I only have it occasionally. It wasn’t too unpleasant, just a little bitter and chalky. This is the kind of drink to take quickly, and I downed it like a shot.

Interestingly, once I started drinking turmeric, I noticed that when I started feeling a little under the weather, I would start craving a turmeric drink. As oddly tasting as it was, my body wanted it. And it worked too. I rarely get sick, but I remember being hit by a particularly bad flu that was going around once, and it was because of turmeric that my symptoms were much less severe than what others around me seemed to be experiencing.

This one was simple to do and it felt good. A few days before my period, I would put a castor oil pack on my lower abdomen each night before I went to bed. A castor oil pack is really just a way to put castor oil on a part of your body and wrap it up so that it stays there for longer.

What I did was rub a generous amount of castor oil over my lower abdomen (I wiped the excess on my lower back). Then I would place a castor-oil soaked cotton cloth over my abdomen and wrap it all up using some cling film. This keeps the oil in place on my body and from staining my clothes and bedding. Some people use heat on top of the pack (such as a hot water bottle), but most of the time I didn’t because it was a hassle. But if you’re more enterprising, using external heat would help the castor oil penetrate more deeply and this is always a good thing.

p.s: Why Your DNA Isn’t Your Destiny makes for interesting reading. This TIME article talks about epigenomes, which sits on top of our genomes. These tell our genes to switch on or off — to speak loudly or whisper. It is through epigenomes that environmental factors like diet and stress can make an imprint. Proof of this at work can be clearly seen in the faces of older, identical twins (opens a NYTimes.com slideshow).

5) Iodine and magnesium chloride supplementation

Further along on my journey in November 2010, I also started supplementing with iodine (plus iodide) and magnesium chloride. Deficiencies of both are very common.

In women, sustained iodine deficiency can lead to a host of uterine, thyroid and hormonal issues—including breast and ovarian cysts as well as fibroids. I took iodine supplements in the form of Iodoral and also painted iodine tincture on my skin to supplement.

I went through an uncomfortable detox period during the first month on iodine because I took high doses, but those detox symptoms petered out eventually. Taking high doses of Vitamin C was very helpful for this as it not only minimised my detox symptoms, but also cleared my intestinal receptors so that the iodine can be absorbed more readily. By the way, if your gut isn’t in the best shape, it’s a good idea to fix that first as otherwise the iodine may be poorly absorbed (a waste!).

Magnesium chloride (which I ingest and apply transdermally on my skin) and magnesium citrate have proven to be a great nerve soother and relaxer. More importantly, magnesium is antagonistic to calcium. Thus, it can help dissolve the calcium deposits in ovarian cysts (as well as calcification in other soft tissues, including the joints).

A wonderful side effect for me has been a drastic improvement in the texture of my breast tissue. Not only has the general “lumpiness” disappeared, but a hard, benign lump that I have had for many years softened and shrank drastically thanks to iodine and magnesium chloride. I’m positive it will disappear completely over time. (If your breasts get sore/swollen during or before menstruation, try painting them with iodine tincture. I got almost instant relief when I painted my breasts the first time. And the brown stain disappeared very quickly, a sign that my poor breasts were sucking up the iodine. )

I strongly recommend reading more about iodine and magnesium. Here are a few great articles to get you started.

Iodine – The universal medicine. “In the case of polycystic ovary syndrome, the starvation of the ovaries causes them to become cystic, swollen…. The greater the iodine deficiency, the greater the number of cysts in the ovaries.”

Magnesium — The Neglected Mineral We Cannot Live Without (download pdf). This article will be an eye-opener for most people and for that, I’m labeling it a must-read. You’ve heard about calcium through the powerful milk/dairy lobby and endless milk commercials, but it’s actually magnesium that’s crucial for strong bones. Would it surprise you that two of the strongest animals on earth—elephants and oxen—don’t sit around guzzling milk all day? Of course not. They eat plants, which are chock full of magnesium.

So that’s it—these are the things I did over the course of one year that eventually took away my pain and changed my life (it really did!).

Afterword

There’s so much knowledge out there that most doctors won’t even tell us about. The default mode when treating women today is by pushing us drugs and pharmaceuticals (all of which have serious health side effects and are liver-toxic).

Meanwhile, simple treatments that can result in true and complete healing are ignored or ridiculed as “alternative” or “new age”. But if we take a step back and just observe our lives today, it’ll become clear that most drug advertising only seek to “manage” diseases and pains, instead of providing a cure or healing.

And a long list of serious health side effects including death are almost a given with pharmaceuticals. This type of thinking has been prevalent for so long that most people just accept these lousy terms as normal and the “proper” way of doing things. But to people living just a hundred years ago, trading a symptom for serious risks such as heart disease and diabetes would be sheer madness, not progress.

The surgical route is not that much better either, and comes with its own risks and unintended consequences.

For instance, power morcellators are used to chop and mince flesh for their easier extraction during hysterectomies and the removal of uterine fibroids. However, if these tissues contain undetected cancer cells (sarcoma), power morcellators will actually spread this cancer within the abdomen and pelvis. Many women are facing uterine cancer because power morcellators were used during their hysterectomies. The FDA has recently started to scrutinise power morcellators, which is a good thing. But for some women, this may be too little, too late. Shockingly, after accidental morcellation of a cancerous tumour, the average remaining life span is only 24-36 months! 1

Clearly, something is very wrong.

It’s not hard to understand why this has become the way of our world—in the end, it’s all about money. What big pharma wants, big pharma gets. And when big pharma spends millions each year in campaign donations and lobbying our government and health officials, what do you think would happen? And has already happened?

The good news is that we always have the power to learn and to re-educate ourselves. With knowledge, we can make the changes that will put us back on the path of true healing.

P.S: As an aside, I believe that cysts and fibroids aren’t the problem. I think they’re actually our bodies’ ingenious ways of trying to help us stay alive. When our diet and health are suffering, when we assault our bodies with strange chemicals and toxins, our bodies will create “pockets of diseases” such as cysts and fibroids to contain the problem so that we may continue to live. Our bodies love us so much that it can suffer our abuse and do this for years and years. But if we fail to listen to the signs that are there, eventually these “pockets of diseases” will cause us pain, illness and problems. So I say, let’s do our part—let’s start listening to our beautiful, intelligent and loving bodies.

1 Many thanks to Lindsey Caldwell from the American Recall Center for sharing this vital (and potentially life-saving) information.

Valery’s original e-mail followed by my response

Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 7:34 PM

Subject: any tip to treat ovarian cyst

Hello, your website was very informative, very clear, simple, no nonsense, genuine information. I have been researching the internet for info lately and am tired of made up/copied/misinformed/unproven methods websites. I was wondering who are these people who have time to set up sites like those.

By any chance, do you have any information regarding ovarian cyst and how to treat it (dissolve it) naturally. So far, I have found info on the internet regarding apple cider vinegar then blackstrap molasses and a few others. I am not completely sure if they are efficient or just promotion on webpages.

I was actually a little taken aback at first when I read your question, because believe it or not, I’ve been on a journey to heal my own ovarian cysts (and fibroids) as well for the past year.

I started out thinking that my problems will be a part of me forever (my mother passed away from ovarian cancer), but after a year of much learning and experimenting, I’m very much humbled by how much I didn’t know then.

This is what I’ve learned and what has worked (and is continuing to work) for me:

– First thing is to do no more harm. Avoid foods that are known to make ovarian cysts worse, eg coffee. Also avoid those that mimic female hormones, eg soy. Even common chemicals such as those in perfumes and air fresheners are oestrogenic. Our skin absorbs these chemicals readily, so go as natural and chemical-free as you can.

– Read up on a pH balancing diet. The aim is to get your diet/lifestyle alkaline – which is the natural, healthy state of the body. Healing will happen then (and your body will do a much better job of dealing with the cysts if it is in a healthy, alkaline state). This should be a lifetime journey, so do not rush or stress about being perfect. Read as much as you can first and make small changes that are comfortable for you.

– Incorporate ginger and turmeric in your diet. These are in the same family (rhizomes) and both are especially helpful in dealing with uterine problems. Ginger has been shown to kill ovarian cancer cells. Try to drink ginger tea every day. Ginger slices (as many as you can tolerate) steeped in hot water, some honey and lemon is a delicious drink and will slowly shrink your cysts.

– Do hot castor oil packs on your lower abdomen. This will promote healing and reduce inflammation. Castor oil is so good at helping uterine problems that it’s not unusual to feel some light “fluttering” in the left or right ovaries when the pack is on. I hope this helps you and I wish you all the best in your journey.

Best Regards

Sam

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Castor oil has many medicinal and curative uses, and the same properties that make it so effective in healing the body also make it an excellent choice for maintaining beautiful and healthy skin and hair.

Castor oil, like many of mother nature's gifts, are usually dismissed as 'alternative' therapy. However, castor oil has been used and recommended for centuries by physicians for its powerful medicinal and curative effects.

Spraying magnesium oil on my skin relaxes me like nothing else can. My tense muscles start loosening within 10 minutes of spraying magnesium oil. It doesn't matter how stressed out I'm feeling, this always does the trick. And the best thing is that I can make my own magnesium oil in large quantities for very little…

But I hope you’ll look to this page as encouragement that healing is certainly possible. I’m just a regular person so if healing was possible for me, it is for you too.

Have faith and you’ll find the best way to start your healing.

And if you’re feeling afraid or overwhelmed, my advice is to start small and do the things that you feel you can do.

– Read up as much as you can.
– Get to know your body. What are the things you eat/drink/do/think that make you feel physically worse? One of my biggest triggers is coffee. Avoid those triggers (everytime you do, you’re protecting your body from harm).
– Find something that’s healthy for you and that you enjoy, and try to take it everyday. Even a simple glass of fresh homemade lemonade can start to help if you take it regularly.

You’re stronger than you know, and if you ever have doubts about this, look to your 4-year old. It’s no easy feat for anyone to raise a child, and if you can do that — you can do anything 🙂

I woke up this morning feeling like I was having a baby. I have had large fibroid tumors so long, I almost forget about it…except on the days when I look pregnant. I hope I am able to pass them.

Much of what you recommend on your site, I already do. I gave up fluoride toothpaste, I started doing organic coffee enemas, I use magnesium oil, and I love juicing although I’ve gotten lazy about it lately. I will begin making the ginger tea; it sounds yummy!

Hey every one…i was diagnose as having hydatidiform mole and my doctor advice to have dilation and cuttage…after 2 weeks..i do ultra sound to see if there are moles inside my uterus and found it clean but unfortunately new finding shows i have right ovarian cyst measures 8cm…im so afraid of having ceasarean section again…is there any natural remedy to dissolve 8cm ovarian cyst..please help…

Hi Hafsha, I’m very sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about hydatidiform moles or cysts during a pregnancy.

But for what it’s worth, if I were in your shoes, I’d take simple, healthy steps that’ll be safe during pregnancies (such as seeking an alkaline diet/lifestyle/emotions — which you can read about on this page a bit). This alone will keep you and your baby healthier. You can always consider other more targeted steps and changes after childbirth.

I’d guess that you must be feeling anxious and fearful now, which is completely natural, but try to take it one step at a time if you can. If a C-section is needed, do your best to make peace with it. Trust that you will heal in time. And have faith that you can heal your cyst in time also. Finding the cyst now may be a blessing in disguise — with you being aware of it now, you can start taking steps. Without knowing, the situation could have been much worse.

thanks alot for the good website l will surely start on working on my body but have started on avoiding acids and started going for vegetable diet and more of juice ,drinking ginger and garlic with lemon a week ago am glad l met your post God bless you .

Hi thanks so much for your info, I have a 4 cm benign ovarian cyst that my doctor insists that i should have a hysterectomy! I am in my 50’s and consider myself to be healthy, I have had no problems with the cyst and had no idea it was there until i had an ultrasound scan for something else that it was discovered, I have always drunk apple cider vinegar with honey every morning, now i will change that and add Molasses, hopefully it will disappear!

Hi there.. thank you Sam for the info.. my mom had a huge cyst that they had to remove via hysterectomy. They foundthe cyst was cancerous. She is a very health conscious 56 y.o. beautiful lady and she drinks alot of natural remedies etc.. and she went for her yearly check up and now this.. not sure what to think… now i have been sore and very uncomfortable on both sides for quite some time now and im going to follow your advice Sam and see how it goes.. i have faith and i trust that my mom is cancer free now as she is in her 6 week recovery time …I also don’t believe in the family heritage of if someone in the family had cancer the next generation or their children will have. We live in such an advanced world where natural healing can take place..along with the Help of GOD and positive thinking..thanks again for your article.. have you got more tips on the toothpaste and the deodorant that you use now.. I’m from South Africa so not sure if we will have all the ingredients that you have… keep well..

As for more tips, I remember it took some adjustment when I switched from using commercial toothpastes to salt to clean my teeth, but now I can’t imagine using anything else. So if you don’t immediately like a new change, give yourself some time first before trying another option (e.g. herbal or fluoride-free toothpastes). And I haven’t used deodorant for years now — at the most, I keep dry with non-scented talc. It works for me. You can even use corn starch, which is natural. I’m sure you’ll find lots of natural options that work for you too 🙂

I’ve had dermoid cyst since the age of 16. I had to have surgery to remove it along with my left ovary..I am now 38 years old and am looking to have my 4th surgery for the same problem. I found out last year I have new tumor on my uterus as well as on my left ovary. I have been told I can not have children anymore..my periods are horrendous as I have end one trips is as well…with all this being said, I found your experience and information very exciting. I am ready to try anything but surgery! Do you have any suggestions of where I should beging? Do you have a book of recipes? I don’t know if I’ll hear back from you, but anything will help. I’m desperate!

About where to begin, I would suggest reading this page slowly when you can — there’s a lot of information in it that you might find helpful but can be difficult to take in all at once.

I don’t have any recipes to share, though I will say that most of my meals are home-cooked and I avoid processed food as much as possible.

I would also suggest checking out the “blood type diet” as certain foods may be more suitable for others but not all, and it’s best to do what’s right for us individually. The blood type diet also has good advice on lifestyle and habits for each blood type.

Here’s the page for blood type A for example. There’s a link for recipes on the page as well.

hi. I’m Nigerian. I was told I had ovarian cyst. I have an issue with my menstrual which seem to be inconsistent. I will try the ginger tea but without lemon and sugar. I really hope it works. I will be glad if u can keep in touch via email@ danielhenrietta90@gmail.com. Pls wish me luck cos I’m trying to conceive. Thank u.

Hi Samantha, thank you for your informative site (short and concise). It gave me much hope when I first came across it a few months back.

It prompted me to re-look at ginger tea – I have found that juicing fresh ginger tea (as opposed to buying a packaged tea) is much more beneficial in the sense that I experienced much reduced pain. I have also since switched to using glass bottle instead of plastic bottle. Since the pain has significantly reduced, I started taking on more sugary foods which I would have previously avoided (yogurt, chocolates, biscuits etc). By the way, these food doesn’t cause much pain and I don’t consume a lot in the first place.

While I’m happy to say that the pain has reduced a lot, I’m not sure why the ovary cyst has actually became much larger over the past half year when I recently went for another ultrasound scan. I don’t wish surgery to be the only option. I try my best to remain positive but sometimes I get a little depressed thinking about it.

My questions to you are: Does castor oil help in reducing the size of cyst? Were your cyst large? How long did it take for you to be fully healed (i.e. length of healing journey)? How did you know that your ovarian cyst has healed (via scan?)? What would you advise in my case? How do you maintain positiveness/peace when trying remedies even when presented with not-so-optimistic news? Thank you!

My personal (and rather unorthodox) view is that scans and such things, more often than not, cause the people getting them more harm than good. For one thing, it does not help with healing. Most of the time, it causes worry and fear, which just makes matters worse.

In wiser and older cultures than ours, healers would only tell someone he’s sick when the healer knows the cure and can provide it. Otherwise, what would be the point??? Sigh. I won’t go on, this subject rather aggravates me…

I had good results doing all that I did, but everyone’s body conditions and what led to them will be different. Thus, the best remedies or actions to take will differ for each person. My diet in childhood, lifestyle, habits etc are all unique to me. I would suggest perhaps delving back to your past to try and find out what may have contributed to your cysts. There may be something you’re missing here. If this is too hard, finding a good naturopath who’s willing to listen could help also.

Keep in mind that on top of dietary reasons, there may be environmental or emotional causes as well. I have had a lot of “baggage” to work through, so I know. What I mean to say is there may be more than just one aspect that needs changing. Let me know if you’re interested in the probable causes for ovarian cysts from a consciousness standpoint. I can dig up my old Louise Hay book and let you know.

And I believe it took me about a year to get concrete results for my PCOS, but it’s been a while so my memory of the exact timeline is fuzzy now. It also didn’t really matter to me, I was getting healthier for life (and not just to relieve my pain) so I didn’t give much thought about how long it was taking.

Lastly, my advice is: don’t give up. I know you’re feeling discouraged right now, but remember that your body found a way to create the cysts, it did not come about for no reason. This means there MUST be a way to heal them. What was done can be undone. You just have to find it for yourself and at the same time continue all the good changes you’ve already made so far.

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement and taking time to answer these queries.
My own guess was that it was due to accumulation of work stress. It just happened one day when I was bowled over by pain.. (i’m still bewildered at times thinking how and why did it happen.) Anyway, hope to continue on this journey of healing and see some results. Wishing you good health and happiness! xx

I have recently found overian cyst.. two in my right overies and one left overy..few monts ago my ultra sound was good..I am so worried..I also have gall stone..which not painful at all..but when my period starts I face abdominal pain..I don’t want surgery..I am unmarried.. what should I do..really worried..is naturall remedy actually helps.?

Hi Samantha, thank you for your informative site (short and concise). It gave me much hope when I first came across it a few months back.

It prompted me to re-look at ginger tea – I have found that juicing fresh ginger tea (as opposed to buying a packaged tea) is much more beneficial in the sense that I experienced much reduced pain. I have also since switched to using glass bottle instead of plastic bottle. Since the pain has significantly reduced, I started taking on more sugary foods which I would have previously avoided (yogurt, chocolates, biscuits etc). By the way, these food doesn’t cause much pain and I don’t consume a lot in the first place.

While I’m happy to say that the pain has reduced a lot, I’m not sure why the ovary cyst has actually became much larger over the past half year when I recently went for another ultrasound scan. I don’t wish surgery to be the only option. I try my best to remain positive but sometimes I get a little depressed thinking about it.

My questions to you are:
1. Does castor oil help in reducing the size of cyst?
2. What was the size of your cyst?
3. How long did it take for you to be fully healed (i.e. length of healing journey)?
4. How did you know that your ovarian cyst has healed (via scan?)
5. How do you maintain positiveness/peace when trying remedies even when presented with not-so-optimistic news? Thank you!

Hello,
I am wondering if you are referring to dermoid cysts? I have one and it was recommended that I have surgery. It is very difficult finding information on dissolving these, most experts say you cannot.
Thanks

Thank you so much for posting! I love natural ways to heal our bodies so i really enjoyed reading your holistic approach to healing your cyst. I don’t have an ovarian cyst, but do have a sebatious cyst on my jawline. It has recently gotten bigger and thought it was infected, but it is no longer red or painful. Im hoping it shrinks so that when it is time to remove it, i wont have a huge scar. Do you have any suggestions on what I could do to shrink the cyst? I have been putting a tumeric paste on it for the past couple of days and i notice it is no longer inflamed.

You can also try drinking turmeric tea as cysts are usually an internal issue. If I were you, I would also look into cleansing and strenghtening the bowels and liver. Try ginger, probiotics, fermented food etc. If you can do this, then cysts might not recur or will recur less often.

The idea is that when the body’s elimination pathways are working well, it’ll stop trying to eliminate through the skin (e.g. via cysts, acne, boils etc).

p.s: If you go for surgery to remove the cyst, you can apply castor oil/coconut oil etc over the wound to prevent scarring.

Ove had 3cm cysts on each of my ovaries for the past 4 years, i think it has now become inflammed cause i am experiencing unbearable pain. im really afraid to go to the doctor. im 23 years old newly wed and id really like to conceive soon. Please help

well done for putting together all this information for women suffering from cysts, its a very valuable resource.

I was diagnosed with a large blood filled cyst on my left ovary 8 months ago. I was already well on the way to living more cleanly, regular detoxing, colonics, enemas, juicing, adding lots of superfoods to my diet, iodine and magnesium supplements, ginger and tumeric, and eating according to my blood type.

I’ve also been working with Chinese medicine practitioners, and energy healers to clear energy out at the emotional level, which I feel I have done but the cyst remains.

I’m now trying castor oil and have been told soaking an organic cotton tampon and inserting that in the vagina reaches the cyst quicker than doing castor oil packs.

I don’t know much about using castor oil through the vagina directly. I have read of someone using an iodine douche to remove fibroids though. If you do try castor oil with a tampon, just take care and make sure it feels ok and stop if there’s any irritation etc. From what I know, our vaginas have their own natural lubricants and secretions that keep them healthy, so adding anything extra that changes this environment should be carefully monitored. If you feel confident, I say trust your gut and go for it. Even if it doesn’t work, you can just stop and try something else.

I discovwred thay I have 9cm ovarian cyst. The nature of my work requires me to stand and walk the whole day since I work in a retail store assisting customers for eight hours. Will this make my ovarian cyst gets worst?

Hi Laura, I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you can find ways to heal yourself with time.

I’ve not heard of walking/standing by itself making cysts get worse. More likely it’s stress and overwork that you need to watch out for — those are not good for anyone. So if you have breaks, take them.
Having said that… I’ve worked in retail before and it can be very tiring work with long hours. So take care of yourself, I hope you’ll be okay.

Hey Girls…I have kept my ovarian cysts under control by exercise and healthy eating habits for last 6 years. Green tea with lemon+honey+mint every morning was very helpful. I also used ginger tea with lemon+mint in the fourth week to get my periods on time. Last few months i became busy & lazy and within 3 months had severe pain in lower abdomen and irregular periods which after scan was confirmed due to large cyst. Now i am back to my earlier routine and hoping for quick recovery.

Hi sam thanks for this article its highly informative I was told I have ovArian cyst not sure of the size ,although I dont feel pains or painful period I only noticed that my period were irregular and absent sometime,please can taking the ginger tea with lemon correct this if yes how long should I use it for

Hi Ruth, the amount of time needed to heal will be different for each person as we’re all unique.

You may want to use some type of marker for progress instead (e.g. more regular periods — 45 days to 40 days to 37 days etc). Keeping track that way would give you some idea of your progress and the amount of time your body needs to fully heal.

Thank you Sam for this information. I do have hope that these natural remedies and approaches will work for me. I have faith in natural remedies and I came looking for ideas and found your information and I am so grateful! Thank you!

This feels like a big intervention for me!! And I’m so moved. I hav jux been diagonosed with a 5cm complex cyst. I’m jus 20 and it scares me most days no matter how brave i try to be. I’ve cried most days. The symptoms aren’t so bad except pelvic pressure, irregular periods and bloating. I’ve searched end to end for natural ways to shrink cysts and so far this is the most informative and expressive post I’ve seen. Thanks for sharing your experience and taking time to reply the comments. I hope to apply all this but carefully. Thank you much, you jus made my entire week even if it ends in a few hours. It’s been an excruciating week going from test to test. God bless you richly

Hi , thanks for your sharing your experience.there is not
much research on dermoid ovarian cyst.what kind of cysts do you used to have?I have dermoid ovarian cyst 11cms,really scary.i was diagnosed in my pregnancy which was 7cms, but I never changed my diet because I was feeding the baby.2months ago I got sharp pain
Unbearable then quicklyi took bakingsoda solution for temporary relief.then after that I was having bladder pressure, diarrhea etc.high blood pressure,high pulse.o my god taking care of breastfeeding baby.then I quickly rushed to my naturopath which is a 3hrs drive.i made it with there with
my family.then she told me it got septic, infected.then I started taking alkaline diet
Supplements etc.i m still battling.your article is so good
encouraging.i need to know if
You completely resolved the cysts or not?I am also following Carol ovarian cyst miracle expert.give me some advice how to speed up the process.

I’m very sorry you went through that, but I’m really glad you got help and that your baby is alright — sepsis is no joke.

I had PCOS, though it’s been so long that I don’t really think about it anymore. On the other hand, it’s also a lifelong affair. I know that eventhough my issues were thankfully resolved, if I go back to my old lifestyle, diet and ways of thinking, it can easily recur. But even that is not such a bad thing. It keeps me honest 🙂

You seem to already be on a good track. My only advice is to maybe take it easier on yourself, and let go of any anxiety or undue worry. You went through a really hard time, but it’s over now. You’re doing all the right things to heal. So it’s okay to let go of the past and move forward and let time do it’s thing. I know that my PCOS must have been created over many years, perhaps even decades — so it’s only natural that my body will take time to heal it. So trust in yourself and have patience, even as you’re making all the right changes.

As an aside, I believe it’s only human to think we must always do more or be more in order to control a scary situation, but more often than not, that kind of thinking only creates more worry and anxiety. And since those states are acid-causing, they would actually not help with our healing at all.

Thanks for this piece. I learnt a lot.
The doctor told me to go for a pelvic scan test which I did and the result came out that I have SIMPLE ovarian cyst 3.5cmx5cm benign with no fluid. What does that mean?because I’m really scared and I’m getting married in a month time. Really wish to get pregnant immediately after the wedding. Please reply I’m really curious and the doctor told me to repeat the test after 4months. Can this affect getting pregnant?

I just discovered your website tonight…after being told at a surgical consult today that I have an 18 cm (7″?) cyst on my right ovary. The surgeon doesn’t think it is cancerous but said since it is “stuck,” that ovary and corresponding fallopian tube would have to come out. (Actually, he suggested a total hysterectomy which I adamantly declined. He also suggested chemo which I declined.) However, after reading your website and now learning about power morcellators (I wish I knew to ask about it during the consult), I am scared to death to have this surgery. Since it took me 10 years to get my life back after chronic fatigue, I am scared about hormone issues, fatigue, mood swings, etc.
Have you heard of anyone who has been able to get rid of a cyst this size through natural methods like you discuss (diet change, tumeric, ginger, etc.)? Any info you can offer would be most appreciated. So very sorry that all of us have to go through these issues…

It might be helpful for you to get a second opinion from a doctor who you feel good about. If surgery is truly needed, then there must be other safer options than just power morcellators. Having a doctor you can trust and who you feel is happy to answer all your questions and listen to your concerns is what every person deserves.

At the same time, I would also suggest finding a naturopath that you can trust. That way, whether you go for the surgery or not, you would also have support to make healthy dietary and lifestyle changes that will help you heal. If not, you can always do your own reading and experimenting with what works. Whatever way you choose to go, it will take time to heal so patience is paramount. It may be tempting to rush out and buy lots of supplements, hoping for a quick fix or a miracle, but sometimes that type of mentality ends up being counter productive because if results don’t come quickly, the tendency may be to feel dejected and give up altogether. A better way to think about healing may be to accept that our bodies likely created our conditions over many months or years, so healing it will also take time, and that’s okay. When you think this way, the panicky and urgent feeling can give way to a feeling of steadfastness and determination that can carry us through where we need to go.

Having said that, I can understand how you feel when you say you’re “scared to death” of having the surgery (and I presume of the cyst itself). Most of us would feel the exact same way… My other piece of advice is one you can start doing immediately — which is to try to take your fear down a notch, little by little. You probably already know the best things that work to soothe yourself (deep breathing, listening to certain music, looking at or being in nature, meditation, reading spiritual writings etc). The goal is to feel hopeful and calm about the situation, which will help rather than hurt you.

Lastly, you say you got your life back after having chronic fatigue — that is not an easy thing to do! From that alone, I can surmise that you have a lot of inner strength and will, even if it may not be apparent to you. Perhaps you can start looking at that time of your life differently, and hold onto a view that makes you feel strong and capable of doing anything now, including healing yourself in whatever way is best for you.

p.s: Check out The Living Matrix when you have some time. It never fails to blow my mind and give me hope.

Thank you for this great article! I have had a simple cyst for about a year and it hain’t changed much. I see a naturopath but I also struggle majorly with fear and anxiety. Your words are comforting and encouraging me to keep going and stay calm. I will try and follow the different things you did in your journey too. Thanks!

I feel blessed to have come across your article.. I have been trying to find out ways to heal my cysts naturally.. But so far most of the articles I came across appeared to b coming from not so trustworthy source.. I feel so positive after reading your article.. Thank you for sharing!!!
For the past two months I have been struggling with ovarian cyst.. During the first diagnosis i wasn’t sure what type of cyst I had.. Doc said I had two cysts one on each ovary and each measuring around 3*3 cm.. Recently I had been experiencing more pain.. Went for ultrasound.. Doc said I have haemorrhagic cysts and the size of the one on right ovary hs increased to 5cm.. My gynae has prescribed me different medicines this time.. I am not able to sleep at nights as I experience terrible pain and discomfort after taking the medicines.. I have been very careful abt healthy eating habits since long ago.. I have stopped taking milk or any dairy product as I read somewhere these contain hormones.. I am underweight and don’t know what to eat apart from vegetables and fruits to stay healthy.. Also can you suggest what to eat to meet the requirement of iodine and magnesium.. In India we use salt in almost everything.. Is that sufficient or anything additional be considered? Also would you suggest eating ripe papaya? I feel i have abdominal pain around cysts only because gas that gets formed in my stomach.. And eating papaya I think should help.. But kind of skeptic as I have cysts..
I am married and would like to have a baby soon but I am afraid because of the current condition..

There’s very little iodine in salt (even iodized salt). You may try seaweed or kelp. Or if you can find iodine tincture at the pharmacy, painting this on your skin can provide extra iodine as it’ll be absorbed. If the stain disappears in less than 24 hours, then you know you’re iodine deficient. For magnesium, green leafy vegetables like spinach are great.

I’m not familiar with ripe papayas or it’s effects… But don’t worry too much about what other people tell you to eat. From my experience, everyone’s bodies are different so it’s makes more sense to make your own observations and go from there — for example, if eating/drinking a certain food makes you feel sluggish, tired or gives you extra gas (or foul-smelling gas), that’s usually your body telling you that it’s having trouble with whatever it is you ingested and you should probably avoid it in future.

You may also want to avoid unhealthy oils like trans fats, hydrogenated vegetable oils and margarine in food (including packaged food and snacks) and cooking. Natural butter and ghee are better.

Turmeric and ginger are great additions. So are fermented food and drinks like yogurt. They should also help with gas.

First of all thanks a lot Samantha for such a wonderfull post.
I am 29 years old and suffering from pcod from last 1 year and taking medicines to get pregnant.but there is no improvement even find there is side effect of medicines also..
Now I will try this hope for good news.

Dear Samantha,
Kudos for the good work
In 2010, I was diagnosed of left sided ovarian cyst and an operation recommended. I was scared because I don’t want to tamper with my reproductive system as am yet to marry and have kids(27 yrs). earlier this year, I was prompted to go for an ultrasound because of the severe pain on my lower back and abdomen. I was diagnosed of same ovarian cyst. I have irregular and very painful period. am definitely going to try this method. my question is, does ovarian cyst cause irregular and painful periods ?

I am so very thankful for this website. Thank you so much. You are changing lives with this wealth of information. Thank you soooo much. I plan to explore these options to help get rid of my ovarian cysts and uterine polyp. I wish you and all the women on this site the best in health and in life! Thanks!

Hi Lisa, I don’t drink bottled water. Just plain old tapwater that’s been dechlorinated by leaving it in a big jug on the counter for 24 hours. I also add a pinch of real sea salt for the trace minerals.

Thank you for sharing your information, so encouraging as I also do believe on natural treatment and healthy diet compared to the pill treatment and surgery advised by most doctors in general.

I’m 24 y.o and I don’t really have a painful period normally, everything seems normal until last month I have a constant fever and a sudden lower abdominal pain, which turned out to be a tubo-ovarian abscesses. CT scan and ultrasound showed that there are a combination of abscess and cyst on my both ovaries. Since the infection was pretty severe, I had a laparoscopic surgery to drain the abscess and got some antibiotics.
From the surgery, doctors said that the cyst on my ovaries seems like to be a chocolate cyst (endometrioma cyst) and they highly recommend me to start taking the hormonal therapy pill.
I didn’t want to take it as I don’t want to get the side effect from it and still believe there are other natural treatment for this, so I decided to wait and see till my next month ultrasound check up.

I have been reading a lot of articles/ website about the natural treatment for this possible ovarian chocolate cyst, start taking the apple cider vinegar and black strap molasses daily and change my diet into a healthier one (avoiding dairy food, red meat, etc).

As for my case, do you have any other suggestions/ recommendations for the natural treatment to heal/ treat the ovarian chocolate cyst?
Wondering if you have some advice to share too 🙂

Hi Kayla, I’m sorry to hear about the infection and what you had to go through, but I’m very glad that you got help for yourself quickly 🙂

You seem to know what you’re doing so I don’t have very much to add in particular.

Except that maybe as you’re trying all the different remedies out there, to also consider how they make you feel.

I’ve learned that not everything that works for others will work for me. For instance, even a small amount of blackstrap molasses made me feel ill and very nauseous, but ginger made me feel good physically (and I loved the taste so much). But yet, because I had read so many good user accounts for blackstrap, I forced myself to continue taking it for much longer than I should have.

That might not sound like such a big deal, but I think since I was trying to heal myself, it probably didn’t help that I was ingesting something I not only hated, but made me feel sick. So that was one learning experience — and this took me a while to “get” because my thinking was that it must not be the remedy (in this case, molasses) that was the problem, but me. Crazy, right?

So don’t be like me. Have faith in and trust how you feel along the way with each new thing.

Hi samantha,,I am 29 turning 30 in few weeks tym,,in 2009 I had a miscarriage and in 2010 doctors discovered dat I have peritorial TB(TB in my stomach) afta takin the treatment I got healed n my periods went back 2 normal..my periods were lasting 7days since I started menstruating at the age of 13…2016 I had abnormal periods sumtymz it will 3days n sumtyms spending 2months wth no periods until last year my periods February dey stoped n I would go 2 doctors dey wud give medication which opens my periods 4 only dat month…last around September I started having hot flashes n other symptoms of menopause..I went 4 tests in different places by results was I got menopause…m currently getting depressed cause I want a child and I don’t know wether my situation has bin changed due 2 me losing sexual interest wth men..I ws bisexual before I lost my child,,by immediately afta miscarage I have bin sexually active wth only women since 2010…can hormonal imbalance be caused by my sexuality??

Hi Moloko, I’m very sorry that you lost your baby. That must have been (and still probably is) very difficult. Please know that you are not alone and that you are not at fault. I’m worried from the tone of your message that you may somehow blame yourself. That would not only be wholly untrue, but also a very damaging idea. So please step away from those types of thoughts if you have them.

I’m not a doctor, but I have never heard of a link between a person’s sexuality and their reproductive health/overall health/hormonal balance. I don’t think there is one… if so, we would have heard about it.

However, I do believe there are strong links between our diets and the overall health of our bodies. That’s been my personal experience so far. When I speak of “diets” here, I’m referring to not just simply food and drink, but our emotional, mental and spiritual diets — i.e. what we take in, what we use for our betterment or detriment, what we hold onto, and what we release.

It’s a difficult idea to fathom and even more difficult to deal with. If you don’t mind me sharing, in my own life and especially after the loss of my father (which broke me and still does sometimes), I’m finding that everything matters and it’s all connected. From how well I eat/sleep each day to how much I’m able to love my true self. Somehow, and for some reason I don’t fully understand, everything is all connected.

I wish I could be helpful, but I hope that this could start to point you in the right direction.

Hi
Thank you for this wonderful page ..
This is extremely stressful :(..
Can u tell me how much ginger tea is safe to drink in a day?
And how often can I have the tumeric tea?
Also can u tell me how do u know if the cyst is shrinking?..does it pain before shrinking?
Is it normal for pain to come and go with ovarian cysts?

Thanks for your blog. I am suffering for endometriosis with severe headache for 3 yrs now. I have bean taking serrapeptase and tumeric tea for 3 months but the pain is still there. What else can i do bcos i want to have my own child ? I am 43.

I’m so sorry to hear about your pain. 3 months isn’t very long, so don’t give up. Remember that you’ve likely had endometriosis for many years. Try ginger juice and the other remedies. If something feels like it’s not having any effect, it doesn’t mean other things might not work. You can find something that works for you.

Also take the time to eliminate the things that you notice may be worsening or triggering your headaches and pain. This is because it doesn’t do us any good to simply add things for their healing properties while simultaneously still taking other things that poison us. This would require experimentation. For example, try eliminating milk/all dairy and caffeine for a month, and see if it helps. If you drink “diet” anything (e.g. diet Coke, diet Pepsi), stop those too as artificial sweeteners can have an insidious effect. Trust that you’ll know what to do as you’re the best source of information about your own diet and habits.

It may also be worth it to look around for a doctor and/or naturopath that you feel you can trust. A doctor can run tests to make sure your headaches are not caused by something more serious, while a naturopath may advise you on dietary changes that could prove helpful.

Hello! I have been feeling some pressure in my lower left abdominal area after using castor oil packs to clear ovaries. The pressure is uncomfortable and sometimes there is also a stabby pain and aching. It has been about 4weeks everyday. Also in the last 2weeks I have developed lower back pain on that side as well. I am drinking chamomile and red raspberry leaf tea daily. Also sodium bicarbonate in water and black strap molasses in water 2 times a day. I am doing some juicing as well. I am going to try adding serrapeptase and msm as well. Tell me is the pressure feeling normal or one you experienced?

If you’re feeling new pains, you should get it checked out. Please see a doctor. I don’t recall feeling the new pain you describe after using castor oil packs. I only felt a “fluttering”.

Also it sounds like you’re trying a lot at once. I understand why, but the downside of that is it’ll make it difficult to know what’s working and what isn’t. You may want to space out the remedies or take it in stages at the beginning, so you can isolate how each one makes you feel and the effect they have.

Don’t be afraid to discard “good advice” from external sources and replace it with your own good judgement and self-knowledge. For instance, I’d read about how great blackstrap molasses was, but it made me so sick and nauseous — that is never a good sign, so I stopped it and never went back. It’s ok to do this.

Remember what works for others (or even a lot of people) might not necessarily even be good for us. Your body knows best, always.

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